'Help a child forget about the pain'

Tuesday

The screams of a scared child in the hospital gave 17-year-old Austin Phelps an idea that has provided comfort to thousands of pediatric patients for 13 years.

The screams of a scared child in the hospital gave 17-year-old Austin Phelps an idea that has provided comfort to thousands of pediatric patients for 13 years.

Phelps, a senior at Cleveland Early College High School, was 4 years old and also a patient in the hospital trying to get some rest. To quiet the screaming child in the room next to him, Phelps let him borrow his own security blanket, named "Raglie."

"He didn't want to give it back," Phelps said. "So I gave him a stuffed animal that I had, so he would give me my blankie back. A few weeks later, my mom and I decided to bring some stuffed animals to the hospital to leave for the kids who were patients there and that's where it started. And then it just kind of grew."

Phelps turned the idea into a non-profit organization, "Operation Raglie," that has made a difference in the lives of children and their families. For his efforts, he was awarded the Carl Carpenter Gold Heart Award this past week. Presented monthly by the family of Dick Palmer, the Gold Heart Award recognizes an individual who puts others before self.

Organization grows from small beginning

After Phelps brought the stuffed animals and blankets to the pediatric unit at Cleveland Regional Medical Center, the staff asked him to bring some to the Emergency Department. He also started taking the toys and blankets to Kings Mountain Hospital, Gaston Hospital and Brenner Children's Hospital, where he was being treated for Epilepsy. He also takes animals and blankets to Carolinas Medical and the Hemby Pedi Unit at Presbyterian. Next year he plans to study law at Campbell University and will look for other hospitals where he can donate animals and toys.

Phelps has given about 5,000 stuffed animals and blankets away since 2000.

He receives help from Kohl's Department Store in Gastonia, where he was recognized as a state and regional winner and national first runner-up of the Kohl's Kids Who Care award. Friends and family make donations, and he also works to earn money to buy items to give away.

"I also recently received a great funding donation from a group of men here in Shelby that are paramedics and wanted to help." Phelps said. "And usually when I speak to groups, I ask them to bring a toy or blanket so that after I speak, we go through the process of tagging and praying over each animal or blanket. That is one thing I am very careful about, I hold each item and each item receives a prayer prior to going to the hospital to be given away."

The tags on the blankets have a picture of Phelps. Underneath the picture is the saying, "You have been hugged," and a short explanation of "Operation Raglie."

Honoring two young lives

Through his efforts, Phelps met two children and their families who became an inspiration to him. He honors their memory during the months they died. In September in memory of Carey Heavner, he puts a "Carey's Covers" tag on each stuffed animal and blanket he gives away.

Heavner was diagnosed with Adult Colon Cancer in 2009. During her yearlong battle with cancer, Heavner impressed the community with her strength and smile. Phelps visited her several times, and she always asked him to sing her favorite song, "It's Not Far," by the Christian group, NewSong.

"Every time I sang the song to her, she made me promise that any time I ever sang the song afterward, I would tell her story," Phelps said. "I gave Carey and her brother stuffed animals and he still has his."

In the month of December, he remembers Allie Styers by tagging each item with "Allie's Rags." Allie was the infant daughter of Mandy Styers, a lady Phelps goes to church with. Styers was pregnant and on Christmas day had a car wreck. The baby took the impact from the seatbelt and was delivered stillborn.

"The nurses didn't want to wrap her in a regular hospital blanket, so they got one that I had donated, not knowing that I knew the family," Phelps said.

Imagine Styers surprise when she saw the tag with Phelps face on the blanket.

"It meant a lot to her and she's had two more daughters and each one was caught in one of my blankets when they were born," Phelps said.

He's met many other children through the years who have received a blanket or stuffed animal.

"I have been in Walmart and kids who have received a toy will come up to me, and tell me thank you," he said. "There is one little boy who is very sick with asthma and his mom says he never goes to the doctor without his very own Raglie that I gave him. If I can help a child forget about the pain or being scared for five minutes, then I know what I am doing works."

About Operation Raglie

Austin Phelps has Epilepsy and from birth to age 9 was in and out of the hospital. After being sick a lot as a child, he is much better now. He founded Operation Raglie, a non-profit organization, to provide stuffed animals and blankets to children in hospitals. For more information, visit the Facebook page, Operation Raglie.

About the Carl Carpenter Gold Heart Award

The award is named for Carl Carpenter, because he searched 10 years for the owner of a photograph he found in a field after the Belwood tornado in 1989. The photo belonged to Dick and Julia Palmer, whose house and all the contents were destroyed in the storm. Carpenter's simple act of kindness to return the photo changed Julia Palmer’s outlook on life and also started a chain reaction of good deeds. To nominate someone for the award, email Jackie Bridges at jbridges@shelbystar.com.

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